Friday, May 05, 2017

This is barely worth mentioning because everyone associated with this administration is vile and disgusting, but I'm happy to see Trump's Army secretary nominee withdrew from consideration on Friday. But instead of thinking about why people were protesting his nomination -- you know, because of his repeated attacks on LGBT people -- Tennessee Republican Mark Green has just doubled down -- doubling down is in the party platform, right? -- blaming "false and misleading attacks against him."

"Tragically, my life of public service and my Christian beliefs have been mischaracterized and attacked by a few on the other side of the aisle for political gain. While these false attacks have no bearing on the needs of the Army or my qualifications to serve, I believe it is critical to give the president the ability to move forward with his vision to restore our military to its rightful place in the world. Carrie and I look forward to finding other opportunities to use our gifts to serve others and help Make America Great Again."

Um, what exactly is so "not great" about America, again? Oh, I remember -- people like Mark Green.

You decide if this is being misconstrued:

Green said that if you polled psychiatrists, they would say that “transgender is a disease.” He added that while most millennials are accepting of transgender people, he wanted to be a “light” that set the record straight.
“If you really want to bring this back to who’s at fault, I mean we gotta look a little bit inwardly,” he said. “I mean, we’ve tolerated immorality and we’re not reflecting light.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations opposed Green’s nomination, citing an appearance before the Chattanooga Tea Party last fall in which Green said “we will not tolerate” teaching the “pillars of Islam” in textbooks. In that same event, Green responded to a man who said he was concerned about an armed insurrection by people who “don’t belong here, like Muslims in the United States” by saying he’d asked a “great question.”

People are against anti-LGBT legislation in Tennessee of which Green is the main sponsor. SB 127 would bar government entities from taking “discriminatory action against a business entity on the basis of the internal policies of the business entity.”
Tennessee does not currently have nondiscrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, although some municipalities do have stronger rules protecting LGBTQ government employees. Green’s bill, however, would bar local governments and public universities from looking at companies’ internal policies when doing business or giving out contracts ― because it would be considered discrimination against the business. Translation: Hello, Cracker Barrel II. (The Senate passed it, of course.)

Thirty-one House Democrats signed a letter calling on the Senate to reject Green's nomination over his history of attacks on LGBT people. In addition, 21 current and former Faculty Members at Service Academies, War Colleges, and other Military Universities released a statement in April warning that the appointment represents a ‘serious threat' to the military's core values and ability to draw on the best talent to accomplish critical military missions," the Palm Center said.
Green, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and medical doctor, served honorably in the Army. His service included a tour of duty in Iraq.